The Modern Gentlemen are musical preservationists of a sort, dedicated to keeping alive the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll, doo-wop and soul by adding four-part harmonies to songs by the Beach Boys, Dion, the Beatles, Motown and, of course, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
The quartet was the longest-running bunch of Four Seasons to sing with Valli, appearing with him nine years ago at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, where they returned Saturday with an impressive, entertaining show.
Backed by a six-piece band of Lincoln musicians, the Modern Gentlemen opened the show with The Rascals’ “Good Lovin’†and wrapped it up 90 minutes later with Valli’s “December 1963 (Oh What A Night)."Â
Presentation aside, the heart of The Modern Gentlemen's show are the vocals, which found all four singers taking leads, then blending their voices into classic four-part harmony vocals that are rooted in doo-wop.
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That was instantly clear when they broke into a street corner, a cappella take on “A Sunday Kind of Love†and was driven home later with a killer, swinging take on Dion’s “Runaround Sue.â€
That vocal technique is then applied to the rest of their jukebox repertoire. It was, perhaps, most impressive on a set of Beach Boys songs and on the Valli numbers that the quartet knows inside and out.
In both cases, The Modern Gentlemen’s not-so-secret weapon is Brandon Brigham, whose high-tenor vocals let him cover Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s stratospheric parts, making an a cappella “Little Surfer Girl†and “Don’t Worry Baby†sound like the real deal and step into the leads on Valli’s classics such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry.â€
There were a couple deviations from the '60s — the BeeGees' “How Deep is Your Love†and a cool version of Billy Joel’s “Tell Her About Itâ€Â — that appropriately followed the Valli songs in the fast-moving set.
The vast majority of the show, however, was dedicated to giving new life to songs that are now 50-60 years old.
For some historical perspective, 50 to 60 years before the Beatles, Beach Boys, etc., were making those songs, the popular music was ragtime and early Dixieland jazz — both of which had largely faded away by 1960.
That the ‘60s classics remain alive is testimony to the enduring appeal, both to those who grew up on them and later generations. And The Modern Gentlemen will do their part in preserving that music again Sunday afternoon at the Lied, very likely just as well as they did Saturday night.
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